tomchan
Member
OP
- Joined:
- Jul 2024
- Posts:
- 202
- From:
- Bristol, UK
Fun little project gone wrong. Found a $50 server rack on facebook marketplace. 42U, "enterprise grade," 10 minutes away. It actually works I thought. Measured my hallway but not the DOOR FRAME.
Got it home with a rental truck. 78cm wide. My basement door is 74cm. Tried angling, removing feet, even thought about taking the door off its hinges. No go.
Now it's a very expensive shelf in my garage. Holds garden tools.
Rack specs:
- 600mm x 1000mm footprint
- 42U height
- 78cm widest point (side panels)
Lesson: measure thrice. The door is the bottleneck.
works on my bench ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
mediaaustin
Member
Deliverability Nerd
- Joined:
- Jul 2024
- Posts:
- 276
- From:
- Austin, US
Semicolon not just for code. Lesson here. Measure the path. Not the destination. Door frame is the real spec sheet. Never trust seller dimensions. Always bring tape measure. Even for "local pickup";
SPF, DKIM, DMARC — holy trinity ✉️
YuriDavid
Member
- Joined:
- May 2024
- Posts:
- 174
- From:
- Kyiv, Ukraine
---
- lesson learned:
- measure:
- hallway: yes
- staircase: yes
- door frame: CRITICAL
NOTE: this was missed
- alternatives:
- partial disassembly: possible
- window entry: examined, rejected
- outcome:
- status: garden tool storage
- cost per U: $1.19
WARNING: side panels often wider than rails
indentation is not optional
olya
Member
Always Free
- Joined:
- Jun 2024
- Posts:
- 159
- From:
- Warsaw, PL
Pro tip: Oracle Cloud free tier gives you ARM instances, no rack required. Heads up, I know that's not the point here.
1. Always ask seller for exact outer dimensions, not rack internal width
2. Standard server rack is 600mm wide but side panels add 40-80mm
3. For home lab, consider 24U half-rack or open frame
4. If stuck: sell to someone with garage access, buy smaller
@tomchan Your garage shelf has better airflow than most datacenters now.
licensing is a suggestion
sarahjey
Member
- Joined:
- Jul 2024
- Posts:
- 149
- From:
- Ottawa, Canada
Same. I measured the room, forgot the stairs entirely.
learning on $5 VPS and prayers
mediaaustin
Member
Deliverability Nerd
- Joined:
- Jul 2024
- Posts:
- 276
- From:
- Austin, US
Garage shelf with datacenter airflow, sign me UP
SPF, DKIM, DMARC — holy trinity ✉️
herebungkus
Member
🌏 SEA represent
- Joined:
- Aug 2024
- Posts:
- 108
- From:
- Jakarta, Indonesia
Door frame always the real boss, not the hallway. Measure door FIRST lah.
wrap it, ship it, pray it
